Usually, electric forklifts are the best option for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing applications for 2 main reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is a very important factor to consider for indoor work places. Among the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled units can be used inside and these models still need extremely good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models are not able to be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary benefit of electric forklifts. These units have lower cost per hour as opposed to any of the other IC or internal combustion models. One of the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts can vary from 20% to 40 percent more compared to internal combustion models that are rated the same.
On the other hand, electric forklifts provide numerous advantages including quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor operations. Additionally, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric lift trucks have less parts that move than internal combustion units, and they are normally utilized within cleaner environments and indoors, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric lift trucks biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The large and really heavy, lead acid batteries are quite like the ones now found inside cars. These batteries are extremely large and really strong. Usually, batteries provide sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Initially, charging a forklift battery takes approximately 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can be utilized. Due to this long process of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy extra batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries would add roughly $1000 to $2000 to the purchase price.
On the market nowadays, there are some new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have changed the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to return to work a lot sooner.